Heel pad



HEEL PAD Herbert E. Hipps, Waco, Tex. 7 Application June 7, 1957, Serialar 664,410 1 Claim. c1. lee-so This invention relates to a 'heel pad,and more particularly to a heel pad for application to a patients heelbefore a cast is applied.

r mmed Mar. 1 1960 foot, as for example as shown in Figure l. The heelpad 12 of the present invention is adapted to be made of a single, pieceof y-ieldable material such as sponge rubber or a suitable plastic, andwhen the heel pad 12 is being used, it is positioned as shown in Figure1 so that the thin I portion 13 is arranged beneath the rounded portion15 of The object of the invention is to provide a heel pad I whichisadapted to be used with a cast so that the cast can be worn withgreater comfort.

Another object of the invention is to provide a heel pad which isadapted to be'fabricated of a single piece of yieldable-resilientmaterial such as'rubber or plastic, and wherein the pad is adapted to bearranged contiguous to a persons heel so that when a cast is applied tothe persons heel or leg, the cast will be prevented from harshly rubbingagainst the persons heel or leg, the heel pad of the present inventionbeing constructed in such a manner that it has a configuration whichinsures that all of the necessary portions of the heel or leg will beproperly protected from rubbing against the cast which is being worn bythe patient.

A further object of the invention is to provide a heel pad which isextremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during thecourse of thefollowing description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, and inwhich like numerals are used to designate like parts throughout thesame.

Figure l is a sectional view taken through a cast, and showing the heelpad of the present invention being used.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view looking at the heel pad of thepresent invention.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a portionof a persons 'foot which is encased in a cast such as the cast 11. Thepresent invention is directed to a heel pad which is indicated generallyby the numeral 12, and the heel pad 12 is adapted to be made of a singlepiece of yieldable or resilient material such as rubber or plastic.

The heel pad 12 includes a first portion 13 which has a thin taperedshape and which is adapted to be positioned beneath the rounded rearportion 15 of the patients heel as shown in Figure 1, when the cast 11is being Worn. The first portion 13 terminates in a substantiallyupstanding portion 14 which is arranged rearwardly of "the rounded heelportion 15, and the second portion 14 terminates in an enlarged thickerportion 16 which is arranged beneath the heel cord 21. The portion 16terminates in an upper tapered end portion 17, as shown in Figure 1 forexample.

Formed integral with the body of the heel pad or secured thereto, is apair of spaced apart flanges 18, and the flanges lS coact with theremaining portions of the heel pad to define an elongated recess 19. Thefree edges of the flanges 18 taper to a pointed edge as indicated by thenumeral 20.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that there has been provided a heelpad which is especially suitable for use by persons or patients who arewearing a cast on their the persons foot. Then, the potrion 14 of theheel pad is arranged to the rear of the rounded portion 15 of thepersons foot, and the enlarged or thicker portion 16 engages therecessed portion'at the back of the leg as shown in Figure 1, and theportion 16 is arranged be,- neath or immediately below the heel cord 21of the persons leg or foot. With the pad 12 positioned as shown inFigure 1, and with the flanges 18' arranged on opposite sides of theheel, it will be seen that the persons heel or adjacent portions of thefeet will be protected against injury from the rough cast 11. Thus, theheel pad will permit patients to wear a cast such as the cast 11 withoutrubbing a sore on the heel or without otherwise causing injury to theheel.

The heel pad 12 is made of yieldable material so that it will readilyconform to the configuration of the persons foot, and the heel pad willprovide a means by which a cast can be worn with greater comfort.

The heel pad of the present invention may be made of sponge rubber, orelse it may be made of a very light plastic material, and the device isadapted to be applied to the back of a patients heel before a cast isapplied. The heel pad 12 is constructed so that when it is worn on theheel under a cast, there is no chance that a patient will get a prwsuresore on his or her heel, and that this is a very common occurrenceparticularly when an inexperienced doctor, such as a doctor who doesntoften put on a cast, applies a cast to a leg.

As shown in the drawings, it is to be noted that the portion 13 of theheel pad is thin and soft and the portion 14 is arranged rearwardly ofthe rounded portion 15 of the heel so that the back of the heel getssome shielding from the hard and rough inner plaster Paris surface. Theportion 16 of the heel pad underneath the heel cord 21 is thick. Thus,since the heel cord 21 is soft, it will expand, and it will tolerateprolonged pressure for long periods of time, whereas the heel boneitself will not. Furthermore, the heel bone is simply a bone coveredwith skin, and it will not tolerate even the softest of pressure for avery long period of time. Furthermore, the heel bone cannot move in acast so that any pressure there by the cast or by the padding willdefinitely make a pressure sore at that point. However, the heel cord isitself a soft, broad, and long structure and it is covered by skin butunderneath the skin, there is between the skin and the heel cord 2.fibre-fat layer. The heel cord, therefore, being soft and being somewhatcapable of spreading sideways a little bit with pressure, will toleratepressure.

Also, the heel cord moves a little bit from time to time in a cast asthe patient alternately relaxes and contracts that muscle in the normalmovement of his or her leg here and there on the bed and around incrutch walking and in other ways.

Thus, it will be seen that the heel pad of the present invention isconstructed so that it will catch the major part of the weight andpressure on the heel cord where it single piece of yield able materialand shaped to include a substantially horizontally disposed lower firstportion adapted to be arranged beneath the rounded portion of a patientsfoot, a substantially horizontally disposed second portion extendingupwardly from said first portion and adapted to be arranged to the rearof the rounded portion of a persons foot, said second portionterminating in an enlarged third portion of increased thickness which isadapted to engage the recessed portion at the back of the leg, saidthird portion terminating in a fourth portion of tapered formation whichterminates in a thin upper edge, the third portion adapted to bearranged immediately below the heel cord of a persons leg or foot, andspaced apart flanges extending from the sides of the pad co-acting withthe first, second, third and fourth portions to define an elongatedrecess, the flanges adapted to be arranged on opposite sides of theheel, and whereby the heel pad will catch the major part of the weightand pres- References-Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,550,869 Salisbury May 1, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Apr. 23,1951 OTHER REFERENCES Orthopaedic Appliances Atlas, American Academy ofOrthopaedic Surgeons, volume 1, pages 112-113. (Copy in Div. 55.)

The Lancet, Plastic Appliances Moulded Directv to Patient Brennan, April23, 1955 (page 844 relied on).

25 (Copy in Div. 55.)

